Preform cold-crimp sleeve applicator



Nov. 3, 1970 G. R. LAWSON 3,537,167

PREFORM COLD-CRIME SLEEVE APPLICATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1968 E i 2 Shets-Sht z I United States Patent 01 Bee 3,537,167 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 3,537,167 PREFORM COLD-CRIMP SLEEVE APPLICATOR Gordon Robert Lawson, Bideford, England, assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Jan. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 697,839 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 19, 1967, 2,783/ 67 Int. Cl. H01r 9/00, 43/04 US. Cl. 29-203 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sleeve applicator which preforms a part of a sleeve to the general shape of a section of a connector, holds the sleeve to receive the connector and then crimps the sleeve to another section of the connector.

The present invention relates to apparatus for applying an insulating sleeve to a terminal.

It is common practice to secure a terminal to an end of an electrical conductor to enable the conductor to be readily joined electrically to another electrical conductor. A conventional terminal comprises two integral parts, a connector part for connection to the conductor and a contact part for joining to the other conductor. If the conductor is in the form of a wire or cable sheather in electrically insulating material, the connector part of the terminal may include an insulation support.

In many applications it is desirable to provide the terminal, and the adjacent end of the wire or cable to which it is secured, with a covering of electrically-insulating material. One proposal for effecting this is to insert the terminated end of the wire or cable into a sleeve formed of suitable material capable of being cold-crimped to the wire or cable end and the connector part of the terminal. Suitable material for the sleeve is, for example, polyvinyl chloride.

It has been found, however, that when the contact part of the terminal takes the form of a tab or receptacle it sometimes occurs that, on mating a tab terminal of one conductor with the receptacle terminal of another conductor, the tab can be located inadvertently between the receptacle and the adjacent wall of the sleeve, instead of in the receptacle. This results in poor electrical contact being made between the tab and the receptacle.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of applying a sleeve of electrically insulating material to an electrical terminal comprising a connector part for securing the terminal to a wire or cable and an integral contact part includes feeding the sleeve' to a forming location, shaping a portion of the sleeve to the same general cross-sectional shape as the contact part of the terminal, disposing the terminal within the sleeve with the contact part extending within the shaped portion and crimping another portion of the sleeve about the connector part of the terminal.

Preferably, the connector part of the terminal is secured to a wire or cable before the terminal is disposed in the sleeve and the other portion of the sleeve is crimped about the connector part and the adjacent end of the wire or cable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an insulating sleeve applicator for applying a sleeve of electrically insulating material to an electrical terminal compirsing a connector part for connection to a wire or cable and an integral contact part includes a devices for feeding the sleeve to a forming location at which there is provided a first pair of dies operable to shape a portion of the sleeve to the same general cross-sectional shape as the contact part of the terminal and a second pair of dies operable to crimp another portion of the sleeve about the connector part of a terminal disposed within the sleeve.

An object of the invention is to provide an applicator that preforms a part of a sleeve into a desired configuration to receive a section of a connector prior to the sleeve being secured onto the connector.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an applicator having means to position a sleeve in a preforming means thereof and the positioning means serving to position a connector within the sleeve after the sleeve has been preformed by the preforming means so that the sleeve can be secured onto the connector at a proper position thereon.

A further object is to provide an applicator having crimping means for crimping a sleeve at spaced locations onto a connector.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that that they may modify it in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan veiw, with parts removed, of a sleeve applicator according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing one operative position of the applicator;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing another operative position of the applicator;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation of the applicator of FIG. 1, with further parts removed, showing one operative position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing another operative position;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section of a terminal with a sleeve applied according to the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a section on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

The insulating sleeve applicator of FIG. 1 has a working surface 1 onto Which sleeves 2 of insulating material are fed through a chute (not shown) to a cross-slide 3. The cross-slide 3 is mounted for reciprocation transversely of the surface 1, as shown by the arrow, to deliver each sleeve 2 against a stop plate 4 arranged to position the sleeve 2 with its axis parallel with the longitudinal axis of the surface 1. A feed finger 5 is mounted for reciprocal movement axially of the positioned sleeve 2 to move the sleeve to a shaping location 6. The feed finger 5 has a tip 7 of cross-section such that it will fit within the sleeve 2 with the end of the sleeve 2 abutting a shoulder 8 at the junction of the tip 7 with the feed finger 5, as can best be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The shaping location 6, shown in more detail in FIGS. 2. and 3, includes a first pair of co-operable shaping dies 9, 10 and second and third pairs of co-operable shaping dies comprising a common fixed die 11 and a movable die 13, 14 respectively. of the first pair, die 9 is fixed and the die 10 is movable towards it under the action of a piston (not shown) acting through a rod 15 and lever 16 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The die 10- is shaped and dimensioned such that, in co-operation with the die 9, a portion 17 of the sleeve 2 is made to conform in length and crosssectional shape with a contact part 18 of an electrical terminal 19(F IGS. 6 and 7) subsequently to be disposed crimped onto the insulating sheath of the wire 23.

In operation, eachsleeve 2 is fed onto the working surface 1 of the applicator bythe cross-slide 3, which holds the sleeve 2 against the stop plate 4 in alignment with the feed finger 5. The feed finger Sis moved to the left (as shown in FIG. 1) until the tip 7 is entered fully into the sleeve 2 and the end surface of the sleeve 2 abuts theshoulder 8 of the feed finger 5. The cross-slide 3 is then moved away. from the stop plate .4 and the feed finger is moved farther to the left to take the sleeve 2 into theforming location 6 where it locates the sleeve 2 in the requiredposition relative to the forming dies, as can be seen in FIG. 2. Through the rod 15 and lever 16, the die is brought up to the die .9 andthe dies cooperate to shape a portion of the sleeve 2. The die 10 is withdrawn and the terminal 19 of a previously terminated wire 23 is inserted into the sleeve 2 until the free end of the terminal 19 abuts the end of the tip 7 of the feed finger 5 (as shown in FIG. 3) thus ensuring that the contact part 18 of the terminal19 is correctly disposed 'in the portion of the sleeve 2 that has just been shaped.

. After inserting the terminal 19 in the sleeve 2, the head 20 is moved downwards bringing the dies 13, 14 into co-operation with. the die 11, causing the sleeve 2 to be crimped :by thedies 13, 11 about the connector part 21 of the terminal 19 and by the dies 14, 11 about the insulating support 22 and the adjacent .end of the wire 23.

At the end of this crimping operation, but before the head 20 is raised, the feed finger 5 is moved .to the right removing the tip 7 from the sleeve 2. Finally, the head 20 is raised and the terminal 19,-with the insulated sleeve 2 secured. to it, is removed. A sleeved terminal. is shown in more detail in FIGS. 6 and 7.

it is applied, so that the tip 7 performs the dual function of carrying the sleeve 2 to the. shaping location 6 and of determining the disposition of the terminal 19 within the sleeve 2 after the initial forming step has been carried out. p

It will, therefore, be appreciated that ,the aforementioned and other desirable objects have been achieved; however, it should be emphasized that the particular embodiment of the invention, which is shown and described herein, is intended as merely illustrative and not as restrictive of the invention.

The invention is claimed in accordance with the following: Y

1. An insulating sleeve applicator for applying a sleeve of electrically insulating material to an electrical terminal including a connector part for securing the terminal to a the sleeve, and means operativelyconnectedto said pairs of dies for operating same.

2. An applicator according to claim 1, in which a third pair of dies is operable to crimp a portion of the sleeve about an adjacent end of a wire or cable secured by the connector part to the terminal.

3. An applicator according to claim 1, in which the feed means includes a tip adapted to extend within a sleeve and to remain extending within the sleeve during the shaping .and crimping operations to limit the insertion of the terminal withinthe sleeve.

4. In an applicator for-applying a sleeve of dielectric material onto an electrical termination which includes an electrical terminal'having a ferrule section secured to an insulated electrical wire and a contact section for electrical connection with a complementary electrical terminal, a sleeve-forming and a sleeve-crimping location, first feed means for feeding the sleeve to a position in alignment with said sleeve-forming and sleeve-crimping location, second feedmeans for feeding the sleeve in position at said sleeve-forming and sleeve-crimping location, first die means at said sleeve-forming and sleeve- 'cr'imping location for performing a first section of the sleeve into a configuration having the same general crosssectional shapeas the contact section of the terminal prior to the electrical termination being inserted into the sleeve,

first operating means connected to at least one part of said first die means to operate same to perform the first section of the sleeve, second die means at said sleeve- -the termination'within the sleeve so that the contact sec- :tion and the ferrule section are properly positioned in l the respective first and second'sections of the sleeve, and second operating means connected to at least one part of said second die means to operate same to crimp the second section of the sleeve into engagement with the ferrule section of the termination.

5. Inan applicator according to claim 4 wherein said positioning means is part of said second feed means and defines a tip adapted to extend within the sleeve and remain therein during the performing and crimping operation.

6. In an applicator according to claim 4 wherein said second die means includes third die means for crimping 'a portion of the sleeve into engagement with the wire adjacent the ferrule section.

7. In an applicator according to claim 4 wherein said first die means includes fixed and movable parts and the said one part of said first die means is the movable part to which said first operating means is connected.

8. In an applicator according to claim 4 wherein said second die means includes fixed and movable parts and the said one part of said second die means is the movable part to which said second operating means is connected.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,783,813 3/1957 Duks. 3,193,792 7/1965 Shea. 3,402,452 9/ 1968 Mraz.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner Us. 01. X.R. 

